Clashes in Chile as Pinera asks for forgiveness

May 21 -Violent clashes in Chile as President Pinera admits his government has ''made mistakes'' on education and asks for ''forgiveness''. Rough Cut (no reporter narration).

▲ Hide Transcript

▶ View Transcript

ROUGH CUT (NO REPORTER NARRATION)
STORY: President Sebastian Pinera delivered his annual speech on the political and administrative state of Chile on Monday (May 21) in the city of Valparaiso as violent demonstrations erupted outside.
Protesters threw rocks, Molotov cocktails and barriers at riot police who responded with the use of water cannons. Demonstrators vandalized public areas, smashing security cameras, setting fire to barricades and impeding traffic in the center of the coastal city.
While the police attempted to curb the violence outside Congress, inside the building the President delivered his speech to rapturous applause.
Pinera's speech focused on changes to the funding of higher education, the issue of reconstruction following the 8.8 magnitude quake that struck Chile in 2010, and the creation of jobs and free trade agreements, among other issues.
Most significantly the President asked twice for the forgiveness of the Chilean people during his speech and apologized for mistakes made by his government.

Reuters, the news and media division of Thomson Reuters, is the world’s largest international multimedia news provider reaching more than one billion people every day. Reuters provides trusted business, financial, national, and international news to professionals via Thomson Reuters desktops, the world's media organizations, and directly to consumers at Reuters.com and via Reuters TV. Learn more about Thomson Reuters products: